Heather Brasseur

I've always been the person everybody came to when they needed to talk about their trials and tribulations. I've also always liked helping people. My dad was in psychology. My undergraduate degree was in fine arts. I originally wanted to bridge the two by going into art therapy, but at the time, that wasn't much of a field. So I went into more mainstream therapy. My first jobs were in underprivileged communities, and working with those folks was really rewarding.

Over my career, I've worked with addiction, severe mental illness, and everything in between. Along the way, I had the opportunity to work with people with OCD. I was surprised that OCD was stuck on the back burner, and people didn’t really know what it was about. I saw that even clinicians could misconstrue OCD, based on caricatures seen in the media. When I realized how sidelined and misunderstood it was, I wanted to specialize in treating it.

I've worked with people who were severely, chronically mentally ill, with conditions like schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorder. I've helped people transition from state hospitals back into the community. I did that for a long time. Then I went into the addiction field. I have several family members who have struggled with addiction over the years. I was familiar with 12-step programs and treatments, and I was interested in helping people in that field.

This is very different from any other kind of therapy you may be familiar with. Most therapy is a lot of talk and not a lot of action. Our sessions are more educational and action-based, not just talking through stuff. ERP is homework intensive: 99% of our work will occur outside of session.

I will meet you wherever you are. For example, if you don't want to say things out loud, maybe you can type them in the chat. I won’t push you, especially in the beginning, to talk about things you don't want to talk about. I will encourage you to share whatever you're comfortable sharing. After a couple of sessions, I'll push a little bit more. It's really important that I get a good understanding of what's going on so I can help you.